Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze has been forced to address concerns from fans that he is spending too much time on the golf course and not enough time on the recruiting trail.
In a story last month from Matt Stahl of al.com, it was revealed that Freeze posted 11 rounds of golf in the month of June on the USGA’s public GHIN database. He is at well over 20 rounds for the calendar year and is outpacing his fellow SEC coaches in that department.
That information has opened Freeze up to criticism, especially in relation to the program’s faltering recruiting. As of Sunday, the Tigers had the SEC’s lowest-ranked recruiting class for 2026, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings. The team only has nine commits, which is also the lowest tally in the conference.
Freeze appeared on David Pollack’s “See Ball Get Ball” podcast this week, and said his penchant for golfing has never impacted the time he spends recruiting.
“I know that this is that time where people are looking for things to write about, and I do love golf. I enjoy playing,” Freeze said. “But what people don’t realize is, I assure you, I never missed a camp day or a recruiting day. But if camp got over at three o’clock one day, and Jill [Freeze] and I go out at 4:30, we absolutely might do that. I’m not apologizing for that part of it. My focus is one hundred percent on getting Auburn in that win column this fall.”
Freeze also addressed Auburn’s poor recruiting rankings and blamed NIL for it, saying there are “a lot of people right now that are operating under a different set of rules.”
The Auburn coach is correct that the recruiting rankings are a major source of concern for Auburn fans. It is not a good look for the Tigers to be so far behind their peers while Freeze is racking up rounds of golf, even if those things have nothing to do with each other.
Freeze was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year, but is expected to make a full recovery. He has gone 11-14 in two seasons as the team’s head coach.
